Video coding using combined inter and intra predictors

ABSTRACT

Blocks of a video data stream may be encoded using either intra-frame (intra) prediction or inter-frame (inter) prediction. Combining intra and inter prediction can provide greater compression while maintaining the quality of the decoded video stream. Intra and inter prediction blocks are combined by weighting each block on a pixel-by-pixel basis and adding the weighted pixel values together. Weighting is based on the intra prediction mode. Pixels are weighted to give emphasis to intra predicted pixels closer to the boundaries where the predicted pixels originate and more emphasis to inter predicted pixels further away from the boundaries.

BACKGROUND

Digital video streams typically represent video using a sequence of frames or still images. Each frame can include a number of blocks, which in turn may contain information describing the value of color, brightness or other attributes for pixels. The amount of data in a typical video stream is large, and transmission and storage of video can use significant computing or communications resources. Various approaches have been proposed to reduce the amount of data in video streams, including compression and other encoding techniques. Real-time video streaming, multi-point video conferencing or video broadcasting are examples of applications that employ video stream encoding including compression.

SUMMARY

This disclosure relates in general to encoding and decoding visual data, such as video stream data, for transmission or storage. Disclosed herein are aspects of systems, methods and apparatuses for encoding and decoding video frames (e.g., forming a video stream). One method described includes identifying an inter prediction block for a first block of a video frame, identifying an intra prediction block for the first block based on an intra prediction mode for the first block, forming a combined prediction block for the first block by combining weighted pixel values of the inter prediction block and weighted pixel values of the intra prediction block, wherein a weighting of each pixel value is based on the intra prediction mode, and encoding the first block using the combined prediction block.

Another method described herein includes identifying a first block of a video frame predicted using a combined prediction mode by reading bits in a header of the video stream, identifying the intra prediction mode associated with the combined prediction mode, generating an intra prediction block using the intra prediction mode, forming a combined prediction block for the first block by combining weighted pixel values of the inter prediction block and weighted pixel values of the intra prediction block, wherein a weighting of each pixel value is based on the intra prediction mode, and reconstructing the first block using the combined prediction block.

An apparatus described herein includes a memory and a processor. According to one implementation, the processor is configured to execute instructions stored in the memory to identify an inter prediction block for a first block of a video frame, identify an intra prediction block for the first block based on an intra prediction mode for the first block, form a combined prediction block for the first block by combining weighted pixel values of the inter prediction block and weighted pixel values of the intra prediction block, wherein a weighting of each pixel value is based on the intra prediction mode, and encode the first block using the combined prediction block.

Variations in these and other aspects of this disclosure will be described in additional detail hereafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The description herein makes reference to the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic of a video encoding and decoding system;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary computing device that can implement a transmitting station or a receiving station;

FIG. 3 is a diagram of a typical video stream to be encoded and subsequently decoded;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a video compression system in according to an aspect of the teachings herein;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a video decompression system in according to an aspect of the teachings herein;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart diagram of a process for predicting a block using combined intra and inter prediction blocks according to an aspect of the teachings herein;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart diagram of a process for combining inter and intra prediction blocks according to an aspect of the teachings herein;

FIG. 8 is a diagram of a 4×4 block used to illustrate adjacent pixels used in the formation of an intra prediction block;

FIGS. 9A-9H are diagrams showing examples of intra prediction modes for the block of FIG. 8; and

FIG. 10 is a flowchart diagram of a process for decoding a block predicted using combined inter and intra prediction.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A video stream may be compressed by a variety of techniques to reduce bandwidth required transmit or store the video stream. A video stream can be encoded, which can involve compression, and then transmitted to a decoder that can decode or decompress the video stream to prepare it for viewing or further processing. Techniques for encoding video streams include prediction, which attempts to predict the pixel values of a block of a frame of a video stream using either pixels peripheral to the block to be predicted, called intra prediction, or attempts to predict the pixel values of a block using a possibly displaced block or blocks from a temporally nearby frame or frames, called inter prediction. In either case, a prediction block is generated and subtracted from the block to be encoded to form a residual block representing the difference between the blocks. The residual block can be further encoded to reduce the number of bits to be included in the output encoded video bitstream in comparison to encoding the original block while maintaining the quality of the decoded video stream.

A prediction block resulting from inter prediction may be called an inter predictor herein, while a prediction block resulting from intra prediction may called an intra predictor herein. As mentioned, intra predictors are generated using pixels peripheral to the current block to be predicted (e.g., pixel to the top and/or left sides of the block). Implementations of the teachings herein combine intra and inter prediction blocks to form a prediction block that can be used to compare against using only an inter predictor or only an intra predictor. Because pixels of the current block near the pixels used for prediction may be more accurately predicted by the intra predictor than by an inter predictor, the inter and intra predictors may be weighted based on the distance from the predictor edge to improve the formation of the prediction block. In this way, predictive coding of video streams may be improved through the selection of an intra predictor, an inter predictor or a combined predictor.

FIG. 1 is a schematic of a video encoding and decoding system 100. An exemplary transmitting station 112 can be, for example, a computer having an internal configuration of hardware such as that described in FIG. 2. However, other suitable implementations of transmitting station 112 are possible. For example, the processing of transmitting station 112 can be distributed among multiple devices.

A network 128 can connect transmitting station 112 and a receiving station 130 for encoding and decoding of the video stream. Specifically, the video stream can be encoded in transmitting station 112 and the encoded video stream can be decoded in receiving station 130. Network 128 can be, for example, the Internet. Network 128 can also be a local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), virtual private network (VPN), cellular telephone network or any other means of transferring the video stream from transmitting station 112 to, in this example, receiving station 130.

Receiving station 130, in one example, can be a computer having an internal configuration of hardware such as that described in FIG. 2. However, other suitable implementations of receiving station 130 are possible. For example, the processing of receiving station 130 can be distributed among multiple devices.

Other implementations of video encoding and decoding system 100 are possible. For example, an implementation can omit network 128. In another implementation, a video stream can be encoded and then stored for transmission at a later time to receiving station 130 or any other device having memory. In one implementation, receiving station 130 receives (e.g., via network 128, a computer bus, and/or some communication pathway) the encoded video stream and stores the video stream for later decoding. In an exemplary implementation, a real-time transport protocol (RTP) is used for transmission of the encoded video over network 128. In another implementation, a transport protocol other than RTP may be used, e.g., an HTTP-based video streaming protocol.

When used in a video conferencing system, for example, transmitting station 112 and/or receiving station 130 may include the ability to both encode and decode a video stream as described below. For example, receiving station 130 could be a video conference participant who receives an encoded video bitstream from a video conference server (e.g., transmitting station 112) to decode and view and further encodes and transmits its own video bitstream to the video conference server for decoding and viewing by other participants.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary computing device 200 that can implement a transmitting station or a receiving station. For example, computing device 200 can implement one or both of transmitting station 112 and receiving station 130 of FIG. 1. Computing device 200 can be in the form of a computing system including multiple computing devices, or in the form of a single computing device, for example, a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a desktop computer, and the like.

A CPU 224 in computing device 200 can be a conventional central processing unit. Alternatively, CPU 224 can be any other type of device, or multiple devices, capable of manipulating or processing information now-existing or hereafter developed. Although the disclosed implementations can be practiced with a single processor as shown, e.g., CPU 224, advantages in speed and efficiency can be achieved using more than one processor.

A memory 226 in computing device 200 can be a read only memory (ROM) device or a random access memory (RAM) device in an implementation. Any other suitable type of storage device can be used as memory 226. Memory 226 can include code and data 227 that is accessed by CPU 224 using a bus 230. Memory 226 can further include an operating system 232 and application programs 234, the application programs 234 including at least one program that permits CPU 224 to perform the methods described here. For example, application programs 234 can include applications 1 through N, which further include a video coding application that performs the methods described here. Computing device 200 can also include a secondary storage 236, which can, for example, be a memory card used with a mobile computing device 200. Because the video communication sessions may contain a significant amount of information, they can be stored in whole or in part in secondary storage 236 and loaded into memory 226 as needed for processing.

Computing device 200 can also include one or more output devices, such as a display 228. Display 228 may be, in one example, a touch sensitive display that combines a display with a touch sensitive element that is operable to sense touch inputs. Display 228 can be coupled to CPU 224 via bus 230. Other output devices that permit a user to program or otherwise use computing device 200 can be provided in addition to or as an alternative to display 228. When the output device is or includes a display, the display can be implemented in various ways, including by a liquid crystal display (LCD), a cathode-ray tube (CRT) display or light emitting diode (LED) display, such as an OLED display.

Computing device 200 can also include or be in communication with an image-sensing device 238, for example a camera, or any other image-sensing device 238 now existing or hereafter developed that can sense an image such as the image of a user operating computing device 200. Image-sensing device 238 can be positioned such that it is directed toward the user operating computing device 200. In an example, the position and optical axis of image-sensing device 238 can be configured such that the field of vision includes an area that is directly adjacent to display 228 and from which display 228 is visible.

Computing device 200 can also include or be in communication with a sound-sensing device 240, for example a microphone, or any other sound-sensing device now existing or hereafter developed that can sense sounds near computing device 200. Sound-sensing device 240 can be positioned such that it is directed toward the user operating computing device 200 and can be configured to receive sounds, for example, speech or other utterances, made by the user while the user operates computing device 200.

Although FIG. 2 depicts CPU 224 and memory 226 of computing device 200 as being integrated into a single unit, other configurations can be utilized. The operations of CPU 224 can be distributed across multiple machines (each machine having one or more of processors) that can be coupled directly or across a local area or other network. Memory 226 can be distributed across multiple machines such as a network-based memory or memory in multiple machines performing the operations of computing device 200. Although depicted here as a single bus, bus 230 of computing device 200 can be composed of multiple buses. Further, secondary storage 236 can be directly coupled to the other components of computing device 200 or can be accessed via a network and can comprise a single integrated unit such as a memory card or multiple units such as multiple memory cards. Computing device 200 can thus be implemented in a wide variety of configurations.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an example of a video stream 350 to be encoded and subsequently decoded. Video stream 350 includes a video sequence 352. At the next level, video sequence 352 includes a number of adjacent frames 354. While three frames are depicted as adjacent frames 354, video sequence 352 can include any number of adjacent frames 354. Adjacent frames 354 can then be further subdivided into individual frames, e.g., a single frame 356. At the next level, a single frame 356 can be divided into a series of segments or planes 358. Segments (or planes) 358 can be subsets of frames that permit parallel processing, for example. Segments 358 can also be subsets of frames that can separate the video data into separate colors. For example, a frame 356 of color video data can include a luminance plane and two chrominance planes. Segments 358 may be sampled at different resolutions.

Whether or not frame 356 is divided into segments 358, frame 356 may be further subdivided into blocks 360, which can contain data corresponding to, for example, 16×16 pixels in frame 356. Blocks 360 can also be arranged to include data from one or more planes of pixel data. Blocks 360 can also be of any other suitable size such as 4×4, 8×8 16×8, 8×16, 16×16 or larger. Unless otherwise noted, the terms block and macroblock are used interchangeably herein.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an encoder 470 in accordance with an implementation. Encoder 470 can be implemented, as described above, in transmitting station 112 such as by providing a computer software program stored in memory, for example, memory 226. The computer software program can include machine instructions that, when executed by a processor such as CPU 224, cause transmitting station 112 to encode video data in the manner described in FIG. 4. Encoder 470 can also be implemented as specialized hardware included in, for example, transmitting station 112. Encoder 470 has the following stages to perform the various functions in a forward path (shown by the solid connection lines) to produce an encoded or compressed bitstream 488 using input video stream 350: an intra/inter prediction stage 472, a transform stage 474, a quantization stage 476, and an entropy encoding stage 478. Encoder 470 may also include a reconstruction path (shown by the dotted connection lines) to reconstruct a frame for encoding of future blocks. In FIG. 4, encoder 470 has the following stages to perform the various functions in the reconstruction path: a dequantization stage 480, an inverse transform stage 482, a reconstruction stage 484, and a loop filtering stage 486. Other structural variations of encoder 470 can be used to encode video stream 350.

When video stream 350 is presented for encoding, each frame 356 can be processed in units of blocks. At the intra/inter prediction stage 472, each block can be encoded using intra-frame prediction (also called intra prediction) or inter-frame prediction (also called inter prediction). In any case, a prediction block can be formed. In the case of intra-prediction, a prediction block may be formed from samples in the current frame that have been previously encoded and reconstructed. In the case of inter-prediction, a prediction block may be formed from samples in one or more previously constructed reference frames.

Next, still referring to FIG. 4, the prediction block can be subtracted from the current block at intra/inter prediction stage 472 to produce a residual block (also called a residual). Transform stage 474 transforms the residual into transform coefficients in, for example, the frequency domain. Examples of block-based transforms include the Karhunen-Loève Transform (KLT), the Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT), the Singular Value Decomposition Transform (SVD) and the Asymmetric Discrete Sine Transform (ADST). In one example, the DCT transforms the block into the frequency domain. In the case of DCT, the transform coefficient values are based on spatial frequency, with the lowest frequency (DC) coefficient at the top-left of the matrix and the highest frequency coefficient at the bottom-right of the matrix. Note that the size of the prediction block may be different from the size of the transform block.

Quantization stage 476 converts the transform coefficients into discrete quantum values, which are referred to as quantized transform coefficients, using a quantizer value or a quantization level. The quantized transform coefficients are then entropy encoded by entropy encoding stage 478. The entropy-encoded coefficients, together with other information used to decode the block, which may include for example the type of prediction used, motion vectors and quantizer value, are then output to the compressed bitstream 488. Compressed bitstream 488 can be formatted using various techniques, such as variable length coding (VLC) or arithmetic coding. Compressed bitstream 488 can also be referred to as an encoded video stream or encoded video bitstream and the terms will be used interchangeably herein.

The reconstruction path in FIG. 4 (shown by the dotted connection lines) can be used to ensure that both encoder 470 and a decoder 500 (described below) use the same reference frames to decode compressed bitstream 488. The reconstruction path performs functions that are similar to functions that take place during the decoding process that are discussed in more detail below, including dequantizing the quantized transform coefficients at dequantization stage 480 and inverse transforming the dequantized transform coefficients at inverse transform stage 482 to produce a derivative residual block (also called a derivative residual). At reconstruction stage 484, the prediction block that was predicted at intra/inter prediction stage 472 can be added to the derivative residual to create a reconstructed block. Loop filtering stage 486 can be applied to the reconstructed block to reduce distortion such as blocking artifacts.

Other variations of encoder 470 can be used to encode compressed bitstream 488. For example, a non-transform based encoder 470 can quantize the residual signal directly without transform stage 474 for certain blocks or frames. In another implementation, an encoder 470 can have quantization stage 476 and dequantization stage 480 combined into a single stage.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a decoder 500 in accordance with another implementation. Decoder 500 can be implemented in receiving station 130, for example, by providing a computer software program stored in memory 226. The computer software program can include machine instructions that, when executed by a processor such as CPU 224, cause receiving station 130 to decode video data in the manner described in FIG. 5. Decoder 500 can also be implemented in hardware included in, for example, transmitting station 112 or receiving station 130.

Decoder 500, similar to the reconstruction path of encoder 470 discussed above, includes in one example the following stages to perform various functions to produce an output video stream 516 from compressed bitstream 488: an entropy decoding stage 502, a dequantization stage 504, an inverse transform stage 506, an intra/inter prediction stage 508, a reconstruction stage 510, a loop filtering stage 512 and a deblocking filtering stage 514. Other structural variations of decoder 500 can be used to decode compressed bitstream 488.

When compressed bitstream 488 is presented for decoding, the data elements within compressed bitstream 488 can be decoded by entropy decoding stage 502 (using, for example, arithmetic coding) to produce a set of quantized transform coefficients. Dequantization stage 504 dequantizes the quantized transform coefficients, and inverse transform stage 506 inverse transforms the dequantized transform coefficients to produce a derivative residual that can be identical to that created by inverse transform stage 482 in encoder 470. Using header information decoded from compressed bitstream 488, decoder 500 can use intra/inter prediction stage 508 to create the same prediction block as was created in encoder 470, e.g., at intra/inter prediction stage 472. At reconstruction stage 510, the prediction block can be added to the derivative residual to create a reconstructed block. Loop filtering stage 512 can be applied to the reconstructed block to reduce blocking artifacts. Other filtering can be applied to the reconstructed block. In this example, deblocking filtering stage 514 is applied to the reconstructed block to reduce blocking distortion, and the result is output as output video stream 516. Output video stream 516 can also be referred to as a decoded video stream, and the terms will be used interchangeably herein.

Other variations of decoder 500 can be used to decode compressed bitstream 488. For example, decoder 500 can produce output video stream 516 without deblocking filtering stage 514.

As mentioned briefly above, an application can be included in a computing device 200 such that, when executed by a processor such as CPU 224, the application generates an additional predictor that may be used to improve prediction of a current block. Specifically, the additional predictor is a combined predictor that combines pixels of an intra predictor and an inter predictor for the block. The combination may be passed on a weighting of the pixels based on the intra prediction mode as described with reference to FIG. 6.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart diagram of a process 600 for predicting a block using combined intra and inter prediction blocks according to an aspect of the teachings herein. Process 600 can be implemented in a system such as computing device 200 to code a video stream. Process 600 can be implemented, for example, as a software program that is executed by a computing device such as transmitting station 112 or receiving station 130. The software program can include machine-readable instructions that are stored in a memory such as memory 226 that, when executed by a processor such as CPU 224, cause the computing device to perform process 600. Process 600 can also be implemented using hardware in whole or in part. As explained above, some computing devices may have multiple memories and multiple processors, and the steps of process 600 may in such cases be distributed using different processors and memories. Use of the terms “processor” and “memory” in the singular herein encompasses computing devices that have only one processor or one memory as well as devices having multiple processors or memories that may each be used in the performance of some but not necessarily all recited steps.

For simplicity of explanation, process 600 is depicted and described as a series of steps. However, steps in accordance with this disclosure can occur in various orders and/or concurrently. Additionally, steps in accordance with this disclosure may occur with other steps not presented and described herein. Furthermore, not all illustrated steps may be required to implement a method in accordance with the disclosed subject matter.

At step 602, an inter prediction block for a block of a frame of a video stream is identified. Herein, “identify” means to determine, select, choose, calculate or identify in any manner whatsoever. As discussed above, inter prediction generally uses another block (e.g., from a temporally close frame) displaced according to one or more motion vectors as an inter predictor for a current block to be encoded. The motion vectors may be found through any number of search algorithms that seek to match existing encoded pixel information to the current block so as to provide a good predictor for the current block.

In an implementation, an inter prediction block can be identified as part of a rate/distortion loop, wherein the “rate” is the number of bits required to represent the encoded block including additional bits added to the output encoded video stream to designate the motion vectors and frame or frames that contribute to the inter predictor for the encoded block and “distortion” is the number of bits required to represent the residual, or difference between the prediction block and the block to be predicted. In cases where more than one motion vector is calculated and more than one inter prediction block is identified, the prediction blocks can be averaged to form a single inter predictor, for example. Generally, the inter prediction block selected is the one whose motion vector results in the lowest rate distortion value of all of the possible choices.

At step 604, an intra prediction block associated with a block of a frame of the video stream is identified. As discussed briefly above, intra prediction uses pixels surrounding a block to predict the contents of the block. FIG. 8 is a diagram of a 4×4 block used to illustrate adjacent pixels used in the formation of an intra prediction block. While FIG. 8 uses an example of a 4×4 block, techniques disclosed herein can be used with other block sizes including, without limitation, blocks having 8×8, 16×16, 32×32 or 64×64 pixels. Rectangular block sizes, for example those comprising 8×16 or 16×8 pixels, may also be used. The 4×4 block in FIG. 8 is represented by pixels a-p, and its peripheral pixels are labeled A-M. Pixel values for pixels A-M can be used to predict pixel values for pixels a-p by extending the values of peripheral pixels A-M to a prediction block having the same size as the block to be predicted.

More specifically, intra prediction relies on the fact that for some portions of a video stream, the contents of a block may be accurately predicted using pixels peripheral to the block. The pixels A-M, which occur on the top and left of a current block are used in the example of FIG. 8 since blocks of a frame are often encoded in raster scan order, from the upper left corner of the frame from left to right along rows descending from the top to the bottom of the frame. In this fashion, for a given block, the pixels A-M peripheral to the block will have been encoded and subsequently decoded prior to being used to predict the block such that the peripheral pixels will attain the same value in the encoder as will be encountered by a decoder. However, other pixels may be used (e.g., when using a different scan order).

An intra prediction mode may be selected by the encoder as part of a rate distortion loop, either alone or in combination with the rate distortion loop described above with respect to identifying the inter prediction block. In brief, various intra prediction modes may be tested to determine which type of prediction will have the lowest distortion for a given rate, or number of bits to be transmitted in an encoded video bitstream, including overhead bits included in the bitstream to indicate the type of prediction used. Distortion can be measured by calculating a measure of the residual block, which is the data remaining after subtracting a prediction block from a data block. One example of a measure of the residual block is a sum of absolute differences (SAD). SAD can be calculated by summing the absolute difference between the prediction block and the block to be predicted on a pixel-by-pixel basis. The smaller the SAD, the more accurately the prediction block predicts the block to be predicted.

FIGS. 9A-9H are diagrams showing examples of intra prediction modes for the block of FIG. 8. In FIG. 9A, an intra prediction mode referred to generally as a vertical intra prediction mode V_PRED is shown. In this mode, prediction block pixels corresponding to the locations of pixels a, e, i and j of the block to be predicted are set to the value of peripheral pixel A, prediction block pixels corresponding to the locations of pixels b, f, j and n of the block to be predicted are set to the value of pixel B, prediction block pixels corresponding to the locations of pixels c, g, k and o of the block to be predicted are set to the value of pixel C, and prediction block pixels corresponding to the locations of pixels d, h, l and p of the block to be predicted are set to the value of pixel D. Alternative techniques for implementing vertical intra prediction mode V_PRED may combine two or more peripheral pixels to calculate a pixel value to be used in the prediction block, such as by averaging the values of the peripheral pixels.

FIG. 9B shows a horizontal intra prediction mode H_PRED. In this example, pixel I is used to set the values of prediction block pixels corresponding to the locations of pixels a, b, c and d of the block to be predicted, pixel J is used to set the values of prediction block pixels corresponding to the locations of pixels e, f, g and h of the block to be predicted, pixel K is used to set the values of prediction block pixels corresponding to the locations of pixels i, j, k and l of the block to be predicted, and pixel L is used to set the values of prediction block pixels corresponding to the locations of pixels m, n, o and p of the block to be predicted. As in the above-described prediction mode, the peripheral pixels can be combined to set the prediction block pixel values instead of merely repeating the values of a single peripheral pixel across all pixel locations of the prediction block.

FIG. 9C shows an oblique intra prediction mode D117_PRED, so-called because the direction of the arrows along which the peripheral pixels will be propagated to generate the prediction block form a diagonal at an angle of about 117° from the horizontal. In this example of an intra prediction mode, the peripheral pixels or combinations of two or three peripheral pixels are propagated to form the prediction block in the direction of the arrows in FIG. 9C. For example, pixels in the prediction block corresponding to the locations of pixels i and m of the block to be predicted are set to a value formed from pixels J and K, and so forth.

FIG. 9D shows another oblique intra prediction mode D63_PRED, so-called because the direction of the arrows along which the peripheral pixels are propagated to generate the prediction block form a diagonal at an angle of about 63° from the horizontal. In this example of an intra prediction mode, the peripheral pixels or combinations of two or three peripheral pixels are propagated to form the prediction block in the direction of the arrows in FIG. 9D. For example, pixels in the prediction block corresponding to the locations of pixels a and e of the block to be predicted are set to a value formed from pixels A and B, and so forth.

FIG. 9E shows another oblique intra prediction mode D153_PRED, so-called because the direction of the arrows along which the peripheral pixels are propagated to generate the prediction block form a diagonal at an angle of about 153° from the horizontal. In this example of an intra prediction mode, the peripheral pixels or combinations of two or three peripheral pixels are propagated to form the prediction block in the direction of the arrows in FIG. 9E. For example, pixels in the prediction block corresponding to the locations of pixels c and d of the block to be predicted are set to a value formed from pixels B and C, and so forth.

FIG. 9F shows another oblique intra prediction mode D27_PRED, so-called because the direction of the arrows along which the peripheral pixels are propagated to generate the prediction block form a diagonal at an angle of about 27° from the horizontal. In this example of an intra prediction mode, the peripheral pixels or combinations of two or three peripheral pixels are propagated to form the prediction block in the direction of the arrows in FIG. 9F. For example, pixels in the prediction block corresponding to the locations of pixels a and b in the block to be predicted are set to a value formed from pixels I and J, and so forth.

FIG. 9G shows another oblique prediction mode D135_PRED, so-called because the direction of the arrows along which the peripheral pixels are propagated to generate the prediction block form a diagonal at an angle of about 135° from the horizontal. In this example of an intra prediction mode, the peripheral pixels or combinations of two or three peripheral pixels are propagated to form the prediction block in the direction of the arrows in FIG. 9G. For example, pixels in the prediction block corresponding to the locations of pixels b and e in the block to be predicted are set to a value formed from pixels B and C, and so forth.

FIG. 9H shows another oblique prediction mode D45_PRED, so-called because the direction of the arrows along which the peripheral pixels are propagated to generate the prediction block form a diagonal at an angle of about 45° from the horizontal. In this example of an intra prediction mode, the peripheral pixels or combinations of two or three peripheral pixels are propagated to form the prediction block in the direction of the arrows in FIG. 9H. For example, pixels in the prediction block corresponding to the locations of pixels c and h in the block to be predicted are set to a value formed from pixels B and C, and so forth.

Other intra prediction modes may form a single value from combinations of the peripheral pixels A-M and set prediction block pixels a-p to the single value. These modes, sometimes called DC_PRED and TM_PRED, form a single pixel value from combinations of subsets of the pixels A-M and propagate the single value throughout the prediction block.

Returning to FIG. 6, at step 606, an intra prediction mode identified in step 604 through the rate distortion loop is used to identify an intra prediction block. In this example, available intra prediction modes are described above in relation to FIGS. 9A-9H and the single value modes DC_PRED and TM_PRED, so the intra prediction block is generated as described above for the selected intra prediction mode. More, fewer and/or different intra prediction modes than those described herein may be available. Further, and while shown as separate steps, step 606 is frequently combined with step 604.

At step 608, the identified inter and intra prediction blocks are combined. As discussed above, the accuracy with which a pixel of a block can be predicted by either inter or intra prediction may be dependent upon the distance of the pixel from the peripheral pixel that formed the prediction value. For example, when pixels a, b, d and e of the 4×4 block of FIG. 8 are intra predicted using an intra predictor generated using the value of peripheral pixel as shown in FIG. 9B, pixel a may be the most accurately predicted by intra prediction (i.e., its value is closest to the corresponding pixel value of the prediction block), while pixel d may be more accurately predicted using inter prediction since it is further from pixel I within the block. The peripheral pixels that form prediction pixels for any given intra predictor can be referred to as a prediction edge.

To take advantage of this possibility, process 600 combines the intra and inter prediction blocks for a block to be predicted with reference to the intra prediction mode. That is, each intra prediction mode at a given block size may be associated with a constant weighting block of the same size that provides the weight for the intra predictor as compared to the inter predictor. For example, if the weighting matrix for a given mode and block size n×n is given by a n×n matrix W with values between 0 and 1, then the prediction value P[i, j] of a pixel at location [i, j] is obtained by the following calculation: P[i,j]=W[i,j]*intrapredictor[i,j]+(1−W[i,j])*interpredictor[i,j]; where intrapredictor is the predictor for a given intra prediction mode; and interpredictor is the inter predictor obtained from one or two motion vectors (e.g., in step 602). The pixels in the same block location from each predictor as the pixel being formed in the combined prediction block are also referred to herein as being co-located since their respective location [i,j] is the same in each block.

An integer variant of this function where 8-bit precision is used for the weights may be represented by the following pseudo code: P[i,j]=(W[i,j]*intrapredictor[i,j]+(256−W[i,j])*interpredictor[i,j]+128)>>8.

The weighting matrix W[i, j] is designed for a given intra prediction mode to match the prediction direction or type as discussed above, and can be formed in a variety of ways. In one implementation, the weighting matrix W[i, j] may be obtained from a 1D exponential decay function of the form A+B exp(−Kx), where x represents the distance from the nearest prediction edge. The variables A, B and K are constants generated experimentally. One way of doing this is by calculating sample combined prediction blocks and determining coefficients that yield unity gain as compared to the original input. Some known intra prediction modes described above may use the following weighting strategies:

-   -   1) V_PRED mode: Generate the weighting matrix W[i, j] using the         1D exponential decay function with x being the vertical position         of a pixel.     -   2) H_PRED mode: Generate the weighting matrix W[i, j] using the         1D exponential decay function with x being the horizontal         position of a pixel.     -   3) DC_PRED and TM_PRED mode: Use equal weighting (average) pixel         values in corresponding locations of the intra and inter         predictors.     -   4) Oblique prediction modes (D63_PRED, D117_PRED, D27_PRED,         D153_PRED, D135_PRED and D45_PRED: Generate the weighting matrix         W[i, j] using the 1D exponential decay function with x being the         oblique distance in the direction of prediction from a pixel to         the prediction edge (e.g., the left/top edge).

It may be desirable to introduce some simplifications in the fourth group to avoid the need to store a 2D weighting matrix for each oblique prediction mode and block size. One possible technique to generate the 2D weighting matrix is to use a 1D array to generate the 2D matrix. Pseudo code representing an implementation to generate a 2D weighting matrix and combine the inter and intra prediction blocks for the various oblique intra prediction modes is as follows, where mode is the identified intra prediction mode, interpred is a pointer to the beginning of the block or pixel data representing the identified inter prediction block, interstride is the number to be added to the pixel address to go from one horizontal row of pixels to the next in the inter prediction block, intrapred is a pointer to the beginning of the block of pixel data representing the identified intra prediction block, intrastride is the number to be added to the pixel address to go from one horizontal row of pixels to the next in the intra prediction block, and size is the value of n where the block to be predicted is of size n×n:

static void combine_interintra(MB_PREDICTION_MODE mode,      uint8_t *interpred,      int interstride,      uint8_t *intrapred,      int intrastride,      int size) { static const int scale_bits = 8; static const int scale_max = 256; // 1 << scale_bits; static const int scale_round = 127; // (1 << (scale_bits − 1)); // This table is a function A + B*exp(-Kx), where x is the horizontal index static const int weights1d[64] = {    128, 125, 122, 119, 116, 114, 111, 109,    107, 105, 103, 101, 99, 97, 96, 94,    93, 91, 90, 89, 88, 86, 85, 84,    83, 82, 81, 81, 80, 79, 78, 78,    77, 76, 76, 75, 75, 74, 74, 73,    73, 72, 72, 71, 71, 71, 70, 70,    70, 70, 69, 69, 69, 69, 68, 68,    68, 68, 68, 67, 67, 67, 67, 67, }; int size_scale = (size >= 64 ? 1:      size == 32 ? 2 :      size == 16 ? 4 :      size == 8 ? 8 : 16); int i, j; switch (mode) {   case V_PRED:    for (i = 0; i < size; ++i) {     for (j = 0; j < size; ++j) {      int k = i * interstride + j;      int scale = weights1d[i * size_scale];      interpred[k] =       ((scale_max − scale)*interpred[k] +       scale * intrapred[i * intrastride + j] + scale_round)       >> scale_bits;     }    }    break;   case H_PRED:    for (i = 0; i < size; ++i) {     for (j = 0; j < size; ++j) {      int k = i * interstride + j;      int scale = weights1d[j * size_scale];      interpred[k] =       ((scale_max − scale)*interpred[k] +       scale * intrapred[i * intrastride + j] + scale_round)       >> scale_bits;    }   }   break;   case D63_PRED:   case D117_PRED:    for (i = 0; i < size; ++i) {     for (j = 0; j < size; ++j) {      int k = i * interstride + j;      int scale = (weights1d[i * size_scale] * 3 +        weights1d[j * size_scale]) >> 2;      interpred[k]=       ((scale_max − scale)*interpred[k] +       scale * intrapred[i * intrastride + j] + scale_round)       >> scale_bits;     }    }    break;   case D27_PRED:   case D153_PRED:    for (i = 0; i < size; ++i) {     for (j = 0; j < size; ++j) {      int k = i * interstride + j;      int scale = (weights1d[j * size_scale]* 3 +        weights1d[i * size_scale]) >> 2;      interpred[k] =       ((scale_max - scale) * interpred[k] +       scale * intrapred[i * intrastride + j] + scale_round)       >> scale_bits;     }    }    break;   case D135_PRED:    for (i = 0; i < size; ++i) {     for (j = 0; j < size; ++j) {      int k = i * interstride + j;      int scale = weights1d[(i < j ? i : j) * size_scale];      interpred[k] =       ((scale_max − scale) * interpred[k] +       scale * intrapred[i * intrastride + j] + scale_round)       >> scale_bits;     }    }    break;   case D45_PRED:    for (i = 0; i < size; ++i) {     for (j = 0; j < size; ++j) {      int k = i * interstride + j;      int scale = (weights1d[i * size_scale] +        weights1d[j * size_scale]) >> 1;      interpred[k]=       ((scale_max − scale) * interpred[k] +       scale * intrapred[i * intrastride + j] + scale_round)       >> scale_bits;     }    }    break;   case DC_PRED:   case TM_PRED:   default:    // simple average    for (i = 0; i < size; ++i) {     for (j = 0; j < size; ++j) {      int k = i * interstride + j;      interpred[k] = (interpred[k] + intrapred[i * intrastride + j]) >> 1;     }    }    break;   }  }

Stated simply, instead of storing a 2D weighting matrix for each prediction mode and block size, a single array weights 1d is generated that represents the output of a single 1D exponential function A+B*exp(−Kx), where x is the horizontal index, for an 8×8 block of pixels. The values are based on a maximum pixel value of 256. Then, every n value of array weights 1d is selected depending on the size n×n of the block to be predicted. The selected values are used to generate the combined predictor using interpred and intrapred depending on the intraprediction mode. In the pseudocode above, for example, the values are used to generate a value scale based on the distance of the current pixel from the prediction edge(s). The value scale is then used as a multiplier for the intra predictor values, while (scale_max−scale) is used as a multiplier for the inter predictor values. The combined predictor, in the code above, writes over the inter predictor, but this is shown only by example. The combined predictor may be written elsewhere in memory.

Blocks encoded using a combined intra and inter prediction mode may be identified in the encoded video bitstream along with one or more motion vectors for inter prediction and a single intra prediction mode. The set of intra prediction modes used as candidates for such a combination mode may be different from the set of modes used for coding using only an intra prediction mode. The determination of whether to encoded a block using an intra prediction mode, an inter prediction mode or the combined inter/intra prediction mode may be made by, for example, generating a rate distortion value for the block encoded using combined inter/intra prediction mode and selecting the coding mode with the lowest rate distortion value. Other ways of selecting the final coding mode for the block are possible.

The above pseudo code can be represented by the flowchart in FIG. 7. FIG. 7 is a flowchart diagram of a process 700 for combining inter and intra prediction blocks according to an aspect of the teachings herein. At step 702, a weighting function is identified. In this example, the weighting function is the 1D exponential decay function weights 1d[64]. At step 704, the block size of the current block (i.e., the block to be encoded) is identified. At step 706, the intra prediction mode used to predict the current block is identified. At step 708, the identified intra prediction mode is used in a switch statement to select the appropriate routine to execute to combine the intra and inter prediction blocks according to the intra prediction mode.

At step 710, the intra and inter prediction blocks are combined according to intra prediction mode V_PRED. This corresponds to combining the pixels values as described in case V_PRED above. At step 712, the intra and inter prediction blocks are combined according to intra prediction mode H_PRED. This corresponds to combining the pixels values as described in case H_PRED above. At step 714, the intra and inter prediction blocks are combined according to intra prediction modes D63_PRED and D117_PRED. This corresponds to combining the pixels values as described in cases D63_PRED and D117_PRED above.

At step 716, the intra and inter prediction blocks are combined according to intra prediction modes D27_PRED and D153_PRED. This corresponds to combining the pixels values as described in cases D27_PRED and D153_PRED above. At step 718, the intra and inter prediction blocks are combined according to intra prediction mode D135_PRED. This corresponds to combining the pixels values as described in case D135_PRED above. At step 720, the intra and inter prediction blocks are combined according to intra prediction mode D45_PRED. This corresponds to combining the pixels values as described in case D45_PRED above. At step 722, the intra and inter prediction blocks are combined according to intra prediction modes DC_PRED and TM_PRED. In this combination, pixel values of the inter and intra prediction blocks are averaged to form the prediction block, corresponding to cases DC_PRED and TM_PRED above.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart diagram of a process 1000 for decoding a block of a frame of a video stream according to an aspect of the teachings herein. Process 1000 can be implemented in a system such as computing device 200 to adjust the resolution at which a video stream is encoded in real time. Process 1000 can be implemented, for example, as a software program that is executed by a computing device such as transmitting station 112 or receiving station 130. The software program can include machine-readable instructions that are stored in a memory such as memory 226 that, when executed by a processor such as CPU 224, cause the computing device to perform process 1000. Process 1000 can also be implemented using hardware in whole or in part. As explained above, some computing devices may have multiple memories and multiple processors, and the steps of process 1000 may in such cases be distributed using different processors and memories.

For simplicity of explanation, process 1000 is depicted and described as a series of steps. However, steps in accordance with this disclosure can occur in various orders and/or concurrently. Additionally, steps in accordance with this disclosure may occur with other steps not presented and described herein. Furthermore, not all illustrated steps may be required to implement a method in accordance with the disclosed subject matter.

At step 1002, process 1000 identifies that a block of a frame of the video stream has been encoded using combined inter/intra prediction. Combined inter/intra prediction can be identified by reading bits included in a frame or block header of the video stream to indicate that a block has been predicted using combined inter/intra prediction. At step 1004, process 1000 can read additional bits included in a frame or block header that indicate which intra prediction mode has been used to form a combined prediction block for the block.

At step 1006, process 1000 can identify an intra prediction block to be used to combine with an inter prediction block identified at step 1008. The intra prediction block is based on the intra prediction mode identified in step 1004. At step 1008, process 1000 can identify an inter prediction block using motion vectors included in a frame or block header of the video stream and one or more reference frames previously decoded by the decoder.

At step 1010, the inter and intra prediction blocks are combined based on the identified intra prediction mode and weights calculated according to the techniques described in relation to FIG. 7, above. As described above, weights are calculated for each pixel of the prediction block, where the individual weights may be numbers between 0 and 1 and relate to the distance from the closest prediction edge. In some implementations, the pixels of the intra prediction block are multiplied by the weights while the pixels of the inter prediction block are multiplied by one minus the respective weight so that the two products for each pixel may be combined to form the combined prediction block pixel. At step 1012, the block is reconstructed using its residual from the bitstream and the combined prediction block as part of the multistep decoding process as described in relation to FIG. 5, above.

The combined inter-intra prediction mode described herein may improve coding efficiency over using inter or intra prediction alone for a block.

The aspects of encoding and decoding described above illustrate some exemplary encoding and decoding techniques. However, it is to be understood that encoding and decoding, as those terms are used in the claims, could mean compression, decompression, transformation, or any other processing or change of data.

The words “example” or “exemplary” are used herein to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any aspect or design described herein as “example” or “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects or designs. Rather, use of the words “example” or “exemplary” is intended to present concepts in a concrete fashion. As used in this application, the term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” rather than an exclusive “or”. That is, unless specified otherwise, or clear from context, “X includes A or B” is intended to mean any of the natural inclusive permutations. That is, if X includes A; X includes B; or X includes both A and B, then “X includes A or B” is satisfied under any of the foregoing instances. In addition, the articles “a” and “an” as used in this application and the appended claims should generally be construed to mean “one or more” unless specified otherwise or clear from context to be directed to a singular form. Moreover, use of the term “an implementation” or “one implementation” throughout is not intended to mean the same embodiment or implementation unless described as such.

Implementations of transmitting station 112 and/or receiving station 130 (and the algorithms, methods, instructions, etc., stored thereon and/or executed thereby, including by encoder 470 and decoder 500) can be realized in hardware, software, or any combination thereof. The hardware can include, for example, computers, intellectual property (IP) cores, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logic arrays, optical processors, programmable logic controllers, microcode, microcontrollers, servers, microprocessors, digital signal processors or any other suitable circuit. In the claims, the term “processor” should be understood as encompassing any of the foregoing hardware, either singly or in combination. The terms “signal” and “data” are used interchangeably. Further, portions of transmitting station 112 and receiving station 130 do not necessarily have to be implemented in the same manner.

Further, in one aspect, for example, transmitting station 112 or receiving station 130 can be implemented using a general purpose computer or general purpose processor with a computer program that, when executed, carries out any of the respective methods, algorithms and/or instructions described herein. In addition or alternatively, for example, a special purpose computer/processor can be utilized which can contain other hardware for carrying out any of the methods, algorithms, or instructions described herein.

Transmitting station 112 and receiving station 130 can, for example, be implemented on computers in a video conferencing system. Alternatively, transmitting station 112 can be implemented on a server and receiving station 130 can be implemented on a device separate from the server, such as a hand-held communications device. In this instance, transmitting station 112 can encode content using an encoder 470 into an encoded video signal and transmit the encoded video signal to the communications device. In turn, the communications device can then decode the encoded video signal using a decoder 500. Alternatively, the communications device can decode content stored locally on the communications device, for example, content that was not transmitted by transmitting station 112. Other suitable transmitting station 112 and receiving station 130 implementation schemes are available. For example, receiving station 130 can be a generally stationary personal computer rather than a portable communications device and/or a device including an encoder 470 may also include a decoder 500.

Further, all or a portion of implementations of the present invention can take the form of a computer program product accessible from, for example, a tangible computer-usable or computer-readable medium. A computer-usable or computer-readable medium can be any device that can, for example, tangibly contain, store, communicate, or transport the program for use by or in connection with any processor. The medium can be, for example, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, or a semiconductor device. Other suitable mediums are also available.

The above-described embodiments, implementations and aspects have been described in order to allow easy understanding of the present invention and do not limit the present invention. On the contrary, the invention is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the scope of the appended claims, which scope is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structure as is permitted under the law. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: identifying an inter prediction block for a first block of a video frame; identifying an intra prediction block for the first block based on an intra prediction mode for the first block; forming, using a processor, a combined prediction block for the first block by combining weighted pixel values of the inter prediction block and weighted pixel values of the intra prediction block, wherein a weighting of each pixel value is based on the intra prediction mode; identifying weighting values according to a formula A+B^(−Kx); wherein A, B and K are constants; and x represents a distance from the weighting value to a nearest prediction edge; and encoding the first block using the combined prediction block.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the weighting values form an array having a same number of elements as a number of pixels in the intra prediction block.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein forming the combined prediction block comprises, for each pixel of the combined prediction block: multiplying a pixel value of the intra prediction block by a weighting value based on the intra prediction mode to form a first product; multiplying a pixel value of the inter prediction block by one minus the weighting value to form a second product; and summing the first product and the second product to generate a pixel value for the pixel of the combined prediction block.
 4. The method of claim 3 wherein the weighting value used to form the first product changes as a pixel distance from the nearest prediction edge increases.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: identifying the intra prediction mode from a set of possible intra prediction modes.
 6. The method of claim 5 wherein the set of possible intra prediction modes is a subset of all intra prediction modes available to encode the video frame.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: identifying at least one motion vector of inter prediction of the first block; and identifying the inter prediction block by generating the inter prediction block using the at least one motion vector.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: including bits in a bitstream indicating the first block was encoded using the combined prediction block, the intra prediction mode and at least one motion vector associated with the inter prediction block.
 9. A method, comprising; identifying a first block of a video frame predicted using a combined prediction mode by reading bits in a header of the video stream; identifying the intra prediction mode associated with the combined prediction mode; generating an intra prediction block using the intra prediction mode; forming, using a processor, a combined prediction block for the first block by combining weighted pixel values of the inter prediction block and weighted pixel values of the intra prediction block, wherein a weighting of each pixel value is based on the intra prediction mode; identifying weighting values according to the formula A+B^(−Kx); wherein A, B and K are constants; and x represents the distance from the weighting value to a nearest prediction edge; and reconstructing the first block using the combined prediction block.
 10. The method of claim 9 wherein forming the combined prediction block comprises, for the pixel of the combined prediction block: multiplying a pixel value of a pixel of the intra prediction block by a weighting value based on the intra prediction mode to form a first product, the pixel of the intra prediction block being located at a same block position as the pixel of the combined prediction block; multiplying a pixel value of a pixel of the inter prediction block by one minus the weighting value to form a second product, the pixel of the inter prediction block being located at the same block position as the pixel of the combined prediction block; and summing the first product and the second product to generate a pixel value for the pixel of the combined prediction block.
 11. The method of claim 9 wherein, for each pixel value of a pixel of the combined block, a pixel value of a co-located pixel of the intra prediction block closer to a prediction edge is weighted more than a pixel value of a co-located pixel of the inter prediction block closer to the prediction edge.
 12. An apparatus, comprising: a memory; and a processor configured to execute instructions stored in the memory to: identify an inter prediction block for a first block of a video frame; identify an intra prediction block for the first block based on an intra prediction mode for the first block; form a combined prediction block for the first block by combining weighted pixel values of the inter prediction block and weighted pixel values of the intra prediction block, wherein a weighting of each pixel value is based on the intra prediction mode; identify weighting values according to a formula A+B^(−Kx); wherein A, B and K are constants; and x represents a distance from the weighting value to a nearest prediction edge; and encode the first block using the combined prediction block.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the intra prediction mode defines a prediction edge and a prediction direction, each of the intra prediction block and the inter prediction block are of a same dimensions as the second block, and the processor is configured to form the combined prediction block by: weighting pixel values of pixels of the intra prediction block by a weighting factor that decreases as a pixel distance from the prediction edge along the prediction direction increases; weighting pixel values of pixels of the inter prediction block by a weighting factor that increasing as a pixel distance from the prediction edge along the prediction direction increases; and summing the weighted pixel value of the intra prediction block with weighted pixel values of the inter prediction block for respective co-located pixels to generate pixel values for pixels of the combined prediction block.
 14. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the processor is configured to: identify an inter prediction block for a second block of the video frame; identify a first intra prediction block for the second block based on a first intra prediction mode for the second block, the first intra prediction mode being one of a first set of intra prediction modes available for a combined prediction block mode; form a combined prediction block for the second block by combining weighted pixel values of the inter prediction block and weighted pixel values of the first intra prediction block, wherein a weighting of each pixel value is based on the intra prediction mode; and encoding the second block using one of the inter prediction block, the combined prediction block or a second intra prediction block for the second block based on a second intra prediction mode for the second block, the second intra prediction mode being one of a second set of intra prediction modes available for encoding the video frame.
 15. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the first set of intra prediction modes is equal to the second set of intra prediction modes and the first prediction block is equal to the second prediction block.
 16. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the first set of intra prediction modes is a subset of the second set of intra prediction modes.
 17. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the one of the inter prediction block, the combined prediction block or the second intra prediction block is whichever of the inter prediction block, the combined prediction block or the second intra prediction block having a lowest rate distortion value.
 18. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the processor is configured to form the combined prediction block for the second block using a weighting array having a same dimensions as the first block. 